New Clothes
by BK27
Summary: What happens while Ichigo and friends are heading towards the Royal Realm? Only read if you've read up to chapter 598 of the manga. Just a little fun while they are blasting towards their next battle.


This is my take on what I'd like to happen in chapter 599 of the Bleach manga. Once the chapter comes out, I may delete this, unless I was right! That'd be nice to have an IchiHime moment in the manga. *Sigh*

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><p>As Ichigo and friends blasted off, the tense moment was broken by Yoruichi. "Should be about 15 minutes. We can relax, meditate, do what you need to prepare yourself." She sat back against the wall and sighed, keeping her eyes closed.<p>

The rest loosened their tense muscles and spread out over the small space. Within moments, Ichigo and Ganju were already in a staring contest. Their faces contorting to the those typical of any given interaction between the two. "Yo, stop staring at me." Ganju said with a low voice.

"You're the one staring at me!" Ichigo shot back.

"Like hell I was! I wouldn't be caught dead staring at your ugly face!" Ganju began to stand up.

"Sit down Ganju." Yoruichi yelled.

Ganju stopped midway and sat back down with a thump. The two men gave one last glance at each other before turning their heads. Ganju turned to the right, now facing Sado and Orihime. He didn't mean to stare, but he hadn't noticed Orihime's outfit until that moment. After just a few moments of Ganju's wandering eyes, he spoke up. "You gonna go into battle dressed like that? You could probably barely move without poppin' out!"

"Ganju!" Ichigo yelled, partially standing up. Yoruichi took his shoulder and pushed him back down. "You bastard!" Ichigo growled.

Orihime's face was bright red. Ganju looked over at Orihime again, expecting an answer. "I..this..was Urahara's idea. I'm sorry, I didn't think about that." Orihime looked down.

Everyone was silent for a moment, until a voice could be heard. "My, my, I seem to have forgotten to tell you I have new clothes for you Inoue."

Yoruichi smirked. "How nice of you to listen in Kisuke."

Urahara replied in his typical higher, mischievous tone. "Why of course! Inoue, I have stored some clothes right under where you are sitting. Slide the tile under you towards the center. There will be a new top in there for you."

"Thank you so much Urahara-san!" Orihime was excited for the hopefully more modest top. She remained on her knees and slid towards the center, revealing a tile. She pulled the tile towards her, and it slid open. She looked curiously inside to reveal a sleeveless white top with wide ribbing and a black bra. She grabbed the bra and looked for a tag.

Urahara's voice came through again. "Don't worry, it'll fit."

Orihime's mind was spinning as she thought of all the ways Urahara could have known her bra size. "Calm your thoughts Orihime. Urahara asked me to look for your size a while back. I checked your underwear drawer." With a sigh of relief, Orihime closed the lid and sat in her place again. She looked in front of her to see Ichigo avoiding eye contact with her. The other two men seemed unfazed. She looked down at the new top. It was lower cut, but was still not very revealing. It was also long, which Orihime liked. She put the garments down and immediately blushed.

"Uh, I'm going to go change over there." She said quietly. She scooted herself over to be next to Yoruichi. Yoruichi glared at the men, and they all shifted their positions to face away from Orihime.

With a sigh, Orihime faced the wall and pulled the arm pieces off. She then unzipped the back and slowly took off the revealing top she had on. She quickly took the bra and slipped her arms through. As she was trying to close it, she noticed that it seemed to be difficult. The loops seemed to almost be moving on her. She tried a few more times before whispering to Yoruichi. "Yoruichi-san, can you help me?"

"Sure." She said. Yoruichi moved closer to Orihime, and began to try and hook the bra. To her frustration, she watched as the loops sank in every time the hooks got close to them. "Kisuke! What did you do?!" She yelled out, startling everyone.

"Oh, you're helping Inoue?"

"Of course I am! What kind of bra is this? We don't have time to play your little games!" Yoruichi tried a few more times before letting go of the bra. There was silence for a few moments before Urahara came back on.

"Only the combined effort of Kurosaki and Inoue will get the garments on." Kisuke said quietly, the joy nearly overflowing in his voice.

"What do you mean combined effort!?" Ichigo choked out. He coughed and cleared his throat.

"You have to help her."

Ganju started laughing. Everyone else had faces of anger or embarrassment. "That is low Urahara." Sado said, glancing at Orihime to give her an apologetic look. He took off his coat that was already open and gave it to her. "Here, put this over your front."

"Thank you, Sado-kun." Orihime said shyly. She was very embarrassed about the situation. She wasn't mad, but she was not expecting the first time Ichigo touching her would be like this. Minutes away from battle. In a small space with other people. It was not romantic at all. She looked behind her as she put the coat over her front. Ichigo was redder than she was. His look was that of both anger and embarrassment. She figured he probably felt like they were being used for Urahara's amusement, which they more than likely were.

"You bastard, Urahara. This is too much. We are about to go into battle! Not only that, but you are making Inoue uncomfortable! She doesn't deserve to feel this way!" Ichigo slammed his fist against the wall.

Orihime looked back towards the wall and let a small smile slip. "You think my amusement is the only reason?" Urahara asked. There was a pause in reply. "The garments collect rietsu through touch. By touching the garment, you will give it protective and power amplifying abilities. Inoue's own powers will be stronger because these garments are near her heart and will react with how she feels." There was more silence.

"What if she's in danger then?" Ganju asked.

"It will react with more protective energy. It may even activate her powers without her even knowing." Urahara did his best to sound normal.

"So if I do this, Inoue will be protected even if I am not around?" Ichigo asked, gripping the fabric on his legs tightly.

"Yes, more than likely. This is the first attempt at trying this, but it should help. You both need to be touching the garment at the same time, so be sure you both are touching some part of it."

"Ok." Ichigo said, moving closer towards Orihime. Orihime looked behind her and met Ichigo's eyes. As he stopped behind her, his eyes turned soft. "Can I help you put this on?" Ichigo asked softly, his face reddening slightly. Orihime nodded and turned around, hiding her own blushed face. Ichigo looked down at the bra and studied it for a moment. Orihime took her left hand and held the looped part of the bra. Ichigo gulped slightly and tried hooking the bra. After a few attempts of getting only one or none of the hooks, he spoke. "I need to use both hands."

"O..Ok." Orihime let out quickly. Ichigo moved his left hand and held the fabric. His fingers laying partially over Orihime's. He quickly hooked each until the four hooks were on. With a sigh, he sat back.

"Thank you Kurosaki-kun." Orihime said in her normal voice. She put the top on and zipped it, Ichigo helping her to zip it the rest of the way up her back. Orihime made some adjustments and then looked down. "Urahara-san, does this belt that's attached need to be put on by both of us too?" She looked at the white belt with a black clasp.

"Yes it does. It's the most important part." Orihime's face reddened again.

"Kurosaki-kun, can you help me with this belt too?"

"Of course. Turn around." Ichigo felt surprisingly calm.

Orihime thought for a moment. Her face now hotter than she would like everyone to see. She was still taking in the feelings of his warm fingers touching her back. "Actually, can I stay like this?"

Ichigo moved closer. "I'd have to reach around you."

"Th..that's fine! Here, I have the part on the left held. Here's the other part." She held out the right part of the belt. He moved closer until he was nearly pressed up against her. He could feel her pulse racing as his own began its rapid increase. He grabbed the belt and slowly moved his hand around to her front. He had to feel for the other part. When he found it, his fingers gently touched her own gripping the belt. They both trembled slightly before Ichigo pushed in the belt until the clasp clicked. Orihime could feel a warmth coming from the clasp and pulled it out to see it. On the front, a pink heart glowed bright. It then vanished as quickly as it came. She put the belt down and looked behind her.

"Thank you." She smiled bright as he nodded, smiled gently, then moved back slowly towards his spot. "Urahara-san? What was that on the belt?" She asked. Not mentioning the shape.

"It shows both of your feelings." He said, a little higher than normal.

Orihime smiled and held the clasp tight. She thought of his warmth, his scent. Everything about those moments. She was hoping that by seeing the heart that maybe it meant that Ichigo really did like her, but didn't know how to show it. She paused on this thought before Ganju spoke.

"Well, turn around. Let's see the improvement."

Orihime turned around, handing the coat back to Sado. "Ah, that's much better." Yoruichi said. "Now you look ready." Orihime nodded and moved back to her spot.

"I am ready!" She said with new determination. She looked at Ichigo, who gave her a confident smile and nod, which she returned. She knew now she could face what lie ahead.


End file.
